Williams, Marquette’s head coach, was standing in the corridor outside the locker rooms Tuesday night after his 17th-ranked team routed Seton Hall, 67-46, explaining how the job for the Pirates’ coach has been made more difficult this season by a litany of injuries.

This was another not-even-close game for Seton Hall, which was smashed in the second half during a 25-1 run that turned a possible upset into another lost night at the Prudential Center in Newark.

But Williams is in the throes of the Big East season and needed a victory. So when he saw the opportunity to pounce on one, he did.

"I think it’s incredibly hard — no matter who you’re playing, no matter where you’re playing — to win on the road," Williams said. "I think the only chance you have after Valentine’s Day, is you just have to overwhelm teams with your intensity. Overwhelm teams with your communication. Overwhelm teams with your spirit, your fight."

That’s exactly what happened Tuesday night.

After the game, Seton Hall’s head coach once again closed the locker room to the media — going against the program’s policy of allowing open locker room access following games. Willard was presented with the opportunity to make his team captain, Kyle Smyth, and leading scorer, Fuquan Edwin, available for comment, but declined.

"They’re just not in a very good mood to talk," Willard said when asked why the policy was altered after the loss. "I just don’t want them to say anything that they shouldn’t say.

"They’re upset and they’re embarrassed with the way they played. Sometimes, you don’t put a 19- or 20-year-old kid in front of a microphone when they’re upset and embarrassed. I just don’t think that’s the right thing to do.

"I think I’m pretty good with the way that the locker room is most of the time."

This is the second time in three weeks that Willard shuttered the Pirates’ locker room following a loss, having done so on Jan. 30 at Georgetown. It happened twice last season.

After being tied 27-27 at the half, Seton Hall (13-14, 2-12 Big East) was thinking it might be able to steal a bright spot in what’s been a blighted season. Marquette (19-6, 10-3 Big East) was struggling shooting and couldn’t figure out the Pirates. But once a decisive 25-1 run that cracked the game wide open started, Seton Hall wilted away. Only Edwin (14 points) and Aaron Cosby (11 points) scored in double-digits.

"I told our team, it’s not about an X or an O, it’s about our fight," Williams said. "We needed stops. We needed consecutive stops. We needed what we call, ‘Turkeys,’ which are three consecutive stops. We had six of those tonight, came really close to having seven.

"I just think when you’re on the road and it’s late February, it’s just hard. You’ve got to muster up all the juice in the second half."

Seton Hall has found that out first-hand this season.

The Pirates have lost eight in a row and 12 of their last 13 games. It is also the worst start to a Big East season for Seton Hall since the 1984-85 team opened the year 0-15.

Injuries and inconsistencies have taken its toll on this season, which began with a 12-2 record and hopes of another improbable run in the league. Instead, it is quickly becoming a season to forget for the Pirates.

"He’s calling timeouts so the kids can breathe," Williams said of Seton Hall. "Who are you going to sub in there? When you sub them in, they’re out of position. I told him tonight, in my five years in the league, I don’t think I’ve seen the rash of injuries on one team."